Champions Bayern Munich crashed to a 3-2 loss at Bochum on Sunday for a third straight defeat in all competitions that saw them drop eight points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The Bavarians, who had Dayot Upamecano sent off for the second consecutive match after his dismissal in Wednesday’s Champions League loss to Lazio, earned a 13th-minute lead with Jamal Musiala drilling in from a tight angle.

But Bochum struck twice before the break through Takuma Asano and Keven Schlotterbeck to complete a stunning comeback for the hosts and pile more pressure on the embattled Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.

“Now [the title] does not look very realistic,” Tuchel said afterwards. “But last season we believed until the end and we were rewarded. So we will keep working at it.”

Referring to the pressure on him following his team’s third loss in eight days, he added: “That happens after every defeat. The ‘how’ we played is key. The ‘how’ was good today and that’s why today’s 90 minutes are very different from the second half at Lazio or the game at Leverkusen.”

The game at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion was repeatedly interrupted, with fans throwing tennis balls on to the pitch in protest at planned outside investment in the Bundesliga.

The hosts added a third with an 85th-minute Kevin Stöger penalty after Upamecano’s dismissal for elbowing an opponent in the box. In the 87th minute, Harry Kane cut the deficit with a tap-in for his 25th league goal of the season – but headed straight at the goalkeeper in stoppage time.

Bayern lost 4-2 here in the 2021-22 season, but won this fixture 7-0 last term and prevailed by the same scoreline at home in September, when Kane scored a hat-trick.

Tuchel’s side are in second place on 50 points, eight behind Leverkusen and four above third-placed Stuttgart. Bochum moved up to 11th place on 25 points and appear safe from relegation.

In Sunday’s other match, Freiburg grabbed a point thanks to Michael Gregoritsch’s late leveller in a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. The visitors took the lead three times but were pegged back on each occasion in a blow to their slim hopes of a top-four finish.

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